Service.
"Conflicting priorities" occur wen "production is below target and profit below budget" admits the official report on the Flixborough disaster: What is the share of the protits for the families of the 28 Nypto workers killed because safety conflicted with protit?
Incidents like Flixborough are only the tip of the iceberg of industrial deaths disease and luYwrecked lives that are part of the workers herace in society. Until recently this has been an of struppie heavily shadowed by wager. compensation a greater prive than preventson, The Robens Report in 1972 sought to revise the increasingly unworkable legislation. Needless to say, it viewed the cause of accidents 'apathy", not the conflict between safety and profit.
CONCESSION In transforming the Robens Report into legislation, the Labour Government made obe major concession to the unions — the safety repent true intons on cha positive Contract. Four years October, these regulations will come into fores.
certain a ums themshi to inspcc! work areas and machinery (the miners have had this right since 18870): to time off for health and safery work. such HETERIAL inspecting accidents; to information and outside advisors; for trade unions to appoint safety reps, who should not lose pay for work done.
However, like all industrial legislation, the regulations legislation on health and safety at work can be determined from the fact that it has just refused to make any financial allocation for setting up safety committees for the workers in the National Health In industry, employers are busily attempting to make the law as ineffectual as possible. The British Society for Social Responsibility in Science describes here the pitfalls that workers need to avoid.
and those of the ruling class Thus the if bertem nazaros are avoured the be negotiated capitalist averand WILD sight for management.
problem. For *How could characer of method of newly clected appliances cleanliness and health?' later This Karl Marx, Capital.
Peavide through the BLOUSES and "progressive" realise what is happening.
co-opted ignore the basic confict between the interests and aspirations of workers regulations can electively usco oy union mustants Lo improve working conditions, but only A fundamental tactic must be to prevent health and safety being split off from the shop-stewards organison — health and safty will have to and tought somewhere along the line. Lack of communication between satery reps and the stewards could also lead to splits on the shop floor — a welcome There are ways to overcome this instance, al David Loewy Lid. in Sheffield, all steward are concerned with safety. Health and the essential the capitalist production be better shown than by the need for forcing upon it by Acts of the simpiest for maintaining safety ure discussed at the joint shop somittee and iccotiated grievance Another potential hazard is the Many manage ments are setting up committees and spewing out safety agroements before October, hoping to get everything signed and sealed before the unions consultation and like all such 'consultative' committees, cisions are taken and workers are RECEPTIN decisions. Safety reps do not have to parlicipate managementinstituted safety committee.
hazard often engineered by management is the safely agreement. If the union decides it wants an agreement, i should contain as a minimum the rights given in legislation. However, in sonse cases agreements have already been signed anion management, which fail to give even the rights specified in the regulations.
EFFECTIVE To be an efTeclive 100 Ir encouraging workers to start taking mus mAn 101011003 ments, an agreement should extend the powers of the reps, and allow them to move around the whole plant;
lay down the structure and tunction of any safety committee and include provisions for monitoring procedures and safety standards.
CHUCTEAS unions have obtained the right. medical themselves, COUTSe aprocients are insufficient. action may be needed to stop a process or han substances.
dockworkers refused to handle bluc asbestos long before the hazards were officially admitted.
In the long run, the only effective safeguard for the health of the workforce is its total control over the production procedure CRUCIAL Two crucial rights. - the right lo information and the right to advice will be pretty useless to many safety reps; they will not have access to them became of the technical probiem Involved.
Safety is no different from other union matters. Just becanse science is involved, this does nut mean that management advice and information " 'objectively correct:
For example, the thresbold limit value - the supposedly safe exposure period to chemicals for a 40 hour working week — for vinyl chloride has come down to a fiftieth of its policy Direct previous value in the last ten years. Workers need their own sources. To a Timited extent provide it. BSSRS Work Hazard Groups and related union committees are, however, very willing to provide both information and stewards technical issues some utions Vibration, advice to and safely reps on many London W1.
This can help develop the We produce a regular Hazards and produced pamphlers on Oil Noise Ashestos and Hospital Hazards to follow. We can BSSRS Work Hazards Group, 9 Poland Stroet, positive role if at adopes policie
----- pull-quotes -----
"It's MY machine, MY factory MY workforce, MY product, MY profit, and YoUR fautt."